My first gluten free Mince Pie of the festive season

Seeing in Christmas a bit too early with a new Gluten Free Mince Pie from Udi’s.

While shopping at our local Tesco last night Emily and I spotted the new range of food from Udi’s Gluten Free. We hadn’t heard of them before and so bought some of the items to give them a try.

The new Udi's Gluten Free Mince Pies - one product in the brand's new range of gluten and wheat free food for Coeliacs

One of the range is Udi’s Rich n’ Fruity Mince Pie and they are the first Gluten and Wheat Free Mince Pies I’ve seen on sale yet.

One of the four Rich n' Fruity Mince Pies

Although it is a bit later than the first Mince Pie of the season I had last year – that was on the 5^th of October!

The Udi's Mince Pie is opened up with a pastry fork (my nephew thinks it's hilarious to use a fork to eat dessert)

The Udi’s Mince Pie was rich and fruity and of the more ‘flatter and home-made’ look type of mince pies, rather than the more identikit look. At first glance it didn’t look too full of filling, but it was full of flavour and the icing dusted pastry did hold up well – always a good sign with gluten and wheat free pastry.

I’d recommend them to fellow Coeliacs.

May I take this opportunity to wish all the readers of the Ham & Egger Files a very Merry Christmas.

Related Blog Posts:

- Seeing in the start of the 'festive season' with a gluten free Mince Pie

- Christmas
- Gluten Free

Links:

- Udi's Gluten Free

- Udi's Gluten Free UK on Twitter

- Coeliac UK

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

All the best for the festive season and have a happy New Year in 2013.

Cheers,

Richard & Emily

Winning the Chrizy Golf Masters Minigolf Tournament!

Playing the Chrizy Golf Christmas-themed Crazy Golf course in Manchester. The course was the 313th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

On Friday 30th November 2012 my fellow Minigolfer John ‘Big Al’ Moore and I headed up (or in his case down) to Manchester and the 9-hole “Chrizy Golf” Crazy Golf course that is set-up in Manchester’s Piccadilly Place until Christmas Eve!

Christmas + Crazy Golf = Chrizy Golf

I’d found out about the course via a blog post by the team at Putterfingers and as the 9-hole festive-themed course is only in place for six weeks I was really keen to get to see and play it before it was gone. And when we heard there was a Crazy Golf competition lined-up we arranged our trip.

The view of the Chrizy Golf course (and a tram) from the bridge opposite Piccadilly Place

The course is only open from private bookings made in advance so John and I were unable to have any friendly fun rounds before the Chrizy Golf Masters Championship teed-off! We did however ‘warm-up’ with some cold drinks in the bar area and had a look around the course. It looks great and each of the 9-holes is well made with most of them having a couple of different routes to the hole/ace lines.

The 313th course visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

The Chrizy Golf competition teed-off and John and I found ourselves in a right battle with me scoring a run of twos and John slightly up and down, carding a four and an ace along with a pair of twos in the first four holes.

John 'YI' Moore fires a shot on the 7th hole

Another four was to follow for John, along with a bogey three, but he finished with flair, scoring a great hole-in-one on the 9th hole to record a Chrizy Golf Masters score of 21(+3). I carded two threes and no aces for a round of 20(+2) which was enough to win the event and take the title of Chrizy Golf Champion along with the tournament trophy! Proving that wearing a festive jumper was a lucky and wise move*.

Relaxing by the 'fire' on hole 9 following my victory in the Chrizy Golf Masters minigolf competition

Following the competition we were able to have some more rounds and in the closely fought contests we each recorded scores of 22(+4) in game one. John then defeated me 25-26 in game two. We then played an 18-hole Matchplay Chrizy Golf game which saw John lead all the way until I won on the second hole of the sudden-death play-off!

The longest hole on the course!

If you’re a fan of Crazy Golf and/or Christmas the Chrizy Golf course is well worth a look.

The Christmas Crazy Golf Champion!

Related Blog Posts:
- Chrizy Golf in Manchester - for six weeks only!
- Manchester-related Blog Posts

- Christmas-related Blog Posts

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:

- Chrizy Golf on Facebook
- Chrizy Golf on Twitter
- Fluid Bars
- Putterfingers.co.uk Blog Post "Festive Crazy Golf Competition anyone?"

*Note: While it was “wise and lucky” and looked good to wear a festive jumper for a Christmas-themed Crazy Golf tournament, being the only person wearing one in a very busy Wetherspoon pub in Manchester City Centre on a Friday night in November was not lol.

I’m a Genius Gluten Free ‘Christmas Hero’!

Appearing on the Genius Gluten Free Advent Calendar!

 

I was nominated by a few people as a Christmas Hero as part of Genius Gluten Free’s ‘Christmas Hero Advent Calendar’ promotion and I appear behind today’s door (3rd December)!

What a lovely surprise it was this morning to see a tweet from the team at Genius Foods telling me I was picked as a winner.

 

You can see my nomination and photo at “Christmas Hero - 3rd December”

 

I’m looking forward to receiving the Genius Gluten Free Mince Pies and other goodies!

 

Merry Christmas :-)

 

Related Blog Posts:
- Christmas
- Seeing in the start of the 'festive season' with a gluten free Mince Pie

 

Links:
- Genius Gluten Free
- “Christmas Hero - 3rd December”

- About Gluten Free
- Coeliac UK

Chrizy Golf in Manchester - for six weeks only!

A new Miniature Golf course has been set-up in Manchester for Christmas!

 

A recent blog post by the team at Putterfingers.co.uk alerted me to the fact there is a new Minigolf course (with a bar) in Manchester – Chrizy Golf!

 

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course and bar, run by Fluid bars, is located at Piccadilly Place in Manchester and is open from 12pm-11pm Monday to Saturday. From details I’ve seen the course takes advance bookings only, so check out the Chrizy Golf Facebook page for info.

 

But you’ll need to be quick if you want to play the course as its only open for a six-week run from the 12th of November until Christmas Eve!

 

'Chrizy Golf' is another new synonym for the game of 'Minigolf' - check out my blog post on "Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour", the Putter King post on "The Many Names of Miniature Golf" and the extensive list of "Miniature Golf Synonyms" compiled by Tim 'Ace Man' Davies at MiniatureGolfer.com.

 

The Chrizy Golf course will also be hosting a tournament – THE CHRIZY GOLF MASTERS! Keep an eye out on the Chrizy Golf Facebook page for more info.

 

Fingers crossed we’ll be able to make a trip to Manchester again this December. Emily and I had a nice day out there last year for the Birdies Pop Up Golf launch event and had a nice wander around the city’s Christmas Market.

 

The team at Chrizy Golf have been encouraging players to wear Christmassy and/or Golfy attire when they visit. I'll definitely be digging out my Christmas hat for a visit. It reminds me, I’ll need to buy a cheesy new Christmas Jumper ready for any Crimbo ‘do’s’ I go to this year!

 

Links:
- Chrizy Golf on Facebook
- Chrizy Golf on Twitter
- Fluid Bars
- Putterfingers.co.uk Blog Post "Festive Crazy Golf Competition anyone?"
- Eurocultured "Christmas Crazy Golf"
- Manchester Wire "Chrizy Golf pop-up bar opens at Piccadilly Place"

 

Related Blog Posts:
- Manchester related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files

- Christmas related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf Report – Richard Gottfried wins the Manchester Mini Masters tournament
- Minigolf Report – Gottfrieds finish first and second in the Manchester Miniature Open tournament
- Revisit to Championship Miniature Golf at Trafford Golf Centre, Manchester
- Course #84 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Championship Miniature Golf
- Course #85 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Manchester (Paradise Island Adventure Golf, Tiki Hut Trail)
- Course #86 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Manchester (Paradise Island Adventure Golf, Temple Ruins Adventure)

- Birdies Pop Up Golf - Launch Event for a New Minigolf Business in Manchester

Seeing in the start of the 'festive season' with a gluten free Mince Pie

May I be the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings and all the best for 2013.

 

Why am I doing this on the 5th of October? Well, I had my first Mince Pie of the 'festive season' after buying a pack of four Genius Gluten Free Mince Pies in Asda this lunchtime!

 

My first Mince Pie of the 2012 'festive season'

 

Very tasty they are too.

 

Other Christmas-related Blog Posts at The Ham & Egger Files:

- Christmas Tree Throwing at the Yattendon & Frilsham Village Fete (in June!)

- Merry Christmas from Luton (in April!)

- Crazy Golfers Christmas 'Do' in London - Darts Tournament at Rileys Victoria!

- The Minigolfers Christmas 'Do' 2010

- Guinness World Record Attempt - Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute!

- 2009 Christmas Crazy Golf Challenge at Devonshire Square

 

Related Blog Posts at The Ham & Egger Files:

- Gluten Free blog posts

- Coeliac blog posts

 

Links:

- Genius Gluten Free

- Genius Gluten Free Mince Pies

- Coeliac UK

Fun and Games at the Yattendon & Frilsham Village Fete

Competing in a Christmas Tree Throwing Competition & other games at a Summer Fete in West Berkshire!

Ahead of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee extended Bank Holiday weekend I had a look online to see what events would be taking place in and around the Abingdon-on-Thames area as we’d be down that way for the Bun Throwing in Abingdon.

One of my searches found that the Yattendon & Frilsham Fete in nearby West Berkshire would be taking place on Monday 4th June and amongst the entertainment, fun and games on offer would be Crazy Golf. Amongst this and the other traditional English fete attractions such as tombolas, raffle, coconut shy and a number of stalls the news item in the Newbury Weekly News said that the fete would also be hosting a Christmas Tree Throwing Competition!?

After a few wrong turns we eventually found the Yattendon & Frilsham Fete and saw that it took over the whole of the village. Scanning the Programme of Events for the afternoon we saw that we were still in time for plenty of activities including the Welly Wanging and a chance to watch a Guinness World Record Attempt for the “Largest Synchronized Morris Dance”! We also read that the fete has been running for over 220 years!

The Kennet Morris Men at the Yattendon & Frilsham Fete

We also spotted signs directing people to the Aunt Sally game, although this was found to be a Crockery Shy, rather than the game I know as Aunt Sally that is very popular in my home town of Abingdon and involves knocking a ball off of a metal spike with wooden sticks!?

Aunt Sally poster at the Yattendon & Frilsham Fete

Emily plays "Aunt Sally"

The first thing to do was find the Crazy Golf course that was meant to be there. Unfortunately there wasn't one at the fete, so we wouldn't be adding another played Miniature Golf course to our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list.

While looking for the Crazy Golf course we found the the Christmas Tree Throwing Competition area, which was gathering quite a crowd.

Quite a crowd for the Christmas Tree Throwing Contest

The rules of the competition were quite simple, it was £1 per go and the person who threw the furthest in their category would win. By the time I had a go there were markers out for the best man, woman, boy and girl and somehow someone had managed to lob a Christmas Tree a fair distance and we'd guesstimate it was about 12 metres.

The Christmas Tree Throwing Competition Playing Field at the Yattendon & Frilsham Fete

In total I had three goes and on each occasion I beat the distance of the first marker (best girl’s distance), but only just!

Launching a Nordman Fir in the Christmas Tree Throwing Competition at the Yattendon & Frilsham Fete

The agony of the third throw in the Christmas Tree Throwing Competition at the Yattendon & Frilsham Fete

A great new sport, although quite bizarre to play during summer!? From what I can tell, the village of Yattendon has become very well known for Christmas Trees and the Yattendon Estate is one of the largest producers of Christmas Trees in the country.

Richard and a Christmas Tree

In the other 'throwing a green thing up a field event' Emily got fairly close to the women’s best position in the Welly Wanging contest with her two throws. I once again beat the marker, but was a fair way off the men’s best.

Emily Welly Wanging

There was also an Egg Throwing arena, but seeing how messy the competitors were getting we gave this a miss, although it does make a great spectator sport. Posters for the event also called the game "Chucky Egg".
 

The Egg Throwing Arena at the Yattendon & Frilsham Fete

At 3.30pm the Kennet Morris Men congregated in the village square for their attempt at setting the record for the “Largest Synchronized Morris Dance”. We’re not sure whether they managed the feat and we wondered how many other sites were hosting Morris Dances as part of the record bid.

The Guinness World Record Attempt for the “Largest Synchronized Morris Dance”!

Before we left we sampled some local cider from the wonderfully named Tutts Clump Cider. On the drive to the fete we’d seen the name Tutts Clump on the map too and found the name amusing. We chose to buy four bottles of three varieties of cider on offer, one of which was a special edition produced for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The Diamond Jubilee Cider from Tutts Clump

Tutts Clump Ciders

A great afternoon spent in a lovely English village.

Fete Related Blog Posts:

- Worm Charming Competition at St Mary’s Village Carnival in Edlesborough

- Three Fetes and Minigolf & Crazy Golf Re-Visits in Melbourn & Whaddon (& Royston)

- Ladies & Gentlemen, introducing your 2011 'Melbourn Village Fete Target Bowls Champion'

- Miniature Crazy Golf at Swavesey Village Fun Day - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Visit #180

- Miniature Crazy Golf at Melbourn Village Fete - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Visit #179

Other Related Blog Posts:
- All Guinness World Records-related Blog Posts at the Ham & Egger Files

Links:

- Yattendon Parish

- Yattendon Estate

- Yattendon & Frilsham Fete
- Kennet Morris Men
- Tutts Clump Cider

Merry Christmas from Luton!

Season's Greetings!?

It seems the festive season is still upon us here in sunny ol' Luton!

Happy 28th of April one and all.

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year from The Ham & Egger Files

Wishing you a very happy Christmas and all the best for 2012!

Cheers,

Richard & Emily

Merry Christmas One and All

Merry Christmas to all of our fans, followers and readers.

Have a good one.

Christmas Theming and Course Updates at The Green Indoor Mini Golf in Hither Green

Back in February 2010 the Green Indoor Mini Golf course in Hither Green, Lewisham, London became the 160th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Since then Emily and I have made a number of re-visits for friendlies, independent tournaments, GMGC Club Championships, and as of yesterday a full BMGA Tour Event.

With it being Christmas-time the team at the course have put up some festive decorations, and have also made some more permanent changes to the course and decor.

The newly painted wall looks particularly good, and the addition of sofas is a nice idea.

One of the holes has also had a new element added to the obstacle to stop 'cheeky' shots being played over the top of the obstacle - a narrow gap/passage - which took some of the difficulty out of the shot.

The course is well worth a visit, and the Course/Club now have a presence on Facebook.




Each Thursday night from 7pm the Green Mini Golf Club (GMGC) holds GMGC Club Championship minigolf competitions. Visit their website for contact details etc. In August I won the first-ever GMGC Club Championship.

The Minigolfers Christmas 'Do' 2010

Nine of the UK's top minigolfers headed to the Urban Golf BIG Golf centre in High Street Kensington on Thursday 16th December 2010 to compete in two Christmas 'Golf' Competitions.

First up was the "Sim BIG Golf Par-3's of the World Doubles Challenge" followed by the "Christmas Minigolf 9-Hole Putting Green Sudden Death Challenge".


In the Sim BIG Golf Par-3's of the World Doubles Challenge a total of 7-holes were played before the two-hour time limit on our bay expired and we were booted off. Therefore the 'par' for the event was 21-shots.

The team of former World Crazy Golf Champion Keith Kellard and 2010 London Invitational Minigolf Champion Jon Angel were the winners by one-shot, with a total of 35(+14). The team or Trevor and Martin Robertson were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, having led after 3 holes!

The best score on any of the holes, was a 2, hit by Alan 'Stormin' Norman on the 5th hole, which he left just half a yard short of the hole with his tee-shot!

Sim BIG Golf Par-3's of the World Doubles Challenge - Results
Rank Team Score
1 KJ Choice (Keith Kellard & Jon Angel) - 35(+14)
2 The Lecherous Morons (Brad Shepherd & Richard Gottfried) - 36(+15)
2 Stretch Alan (Chris Jones & Alan Norman) - 36(+15)
4 Robbo (Trevor Robertson & Martin Robertson) - 37(+16)

Hole by hole scores:
KJ Choice 6, 5, 6, 3, 4, 5, 6 - 35(+14)
The Lecherous Morons 6, 5, 6, 5, 4, 4, 6 - 36(+15)
Stretch Alan 6, 5, 6, 6, 2, 6, 5- 36(+15)
Robbo 6, 4, 5, 6, 6, 4, 6 - 37(+16)

Photos from the Competition:

Non-player Emily Gottfried tees-off the competition with a ceremonial first-drive.

In the Christmas Minigolf 9-Hole Putting Green Sudden Death Challenge, the order of play was decided by a random draw, with Trevor 'Trevino' Robertson drawn to play first. Each player had to get a hole-in-one on each of the 9-holes on the Putting Course, but were eliminated if they failed to Ace the hole.

The reigning and defending 2009 Christmas Crazy Golf 'Do' Champion Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd was able to Ace 4 of the 9 Holes and became the only two-time Crimbo Champ, winning a Toy Story 3 Miniature Golf Course Set for his troubles.


Christmas Minigolf 9-Hole Putting Green Sudden Death Challenge - Results
Rank Player Aces/Holes Completed
1 Brad Shepherd - 4
2 Jon Angel - 3
2 Keith Kellard - 3
4 Chris Jones - 2
5 Emily Gottfried - 1
5 Alan Norman - 1
5 Martin Robertson - 1
5 Richard Gottfried - 1
9 Trevor Robertson - 0

Notes:
- 2004 Christmas Minigolf Champion Lionel 'The Spoon' Bender withdrew from the evenings festivities so didn't have a stab at the title he won eons ago.
- Oliver 'The Machine' Florence had to withdraw due to a clash of Christmas 'Do's'

Photos of the Putting Competition:















Both tournaments held Ranking Points for The Irregular Mini Golf Tour Ranking List (to be updated before the year is out - hopefully!).

The 9-hole Putting Green is now the 209th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour (we had previously visited the centre, but did not play, back in October).


Results of the 2009 Christmas Minigolf 'Do' - The Christmas Crazy Golf Challenge at Devonshire Square.